Patna High Court quashes engineering college order

MOTIHARI: The Patna high court has quashed the order of the Motihari Engineering College (MEC) expelling three students on charges of ragging of a fellow girl student. A high court bench of Justice Navin Sinha on Monday further directed the government college authority to pay Rs 1 lakh to each of the expelled student as compensation and the amount be deposited in students' welfare fund of the college.

The court in its judgment has said no college can be allowed to play with the future of any student.

It may be mentioned that three second year students of Motihari Engineering College -- Vivek Kumar, Gaurav Kumar and Rachana Kumari -- had been expelled on charge of ragging Monika Shailesh on December 23.

The aggrieved students, including Vivek, approached the HC with writ petition to quash the expulsion order.

The court has observed that the college administration had expelled the three students without any evidence given that there is no anti-ragging committee in the college as per the sanctioned standard and direction of the government.

Officer on special duty (OSD)-cum-MEC principal Dr A K Mishra said he has received information of the HC judgment and the director of the state science and technology department Bhagawan Singh has directed him on telephone to allow the three students to appear in the first semester examination of second year in the college. Accordingly, he allowed them to take their exam as per the order.

It may be recalled that on October 15, Shailesh, a first-year student of MEC, had complained to the OSD of the college that she was subjected to intense physical and mental torture by the three students.

She had also lodged a case against them with the Motihari Mufassil police station on the same day. According to the OSD, the disciplinary committee of the college took up the matter and held detailed enquiry and sent report to the department for final action.

The department passed the order of expulsion following the committee's recommendation.